Monday, August 15, 2011

During the GOP Debate hosted by FoxNews, Republican Party candidate Michele Bachmann was asked by a columnist whether she would be "submissive to her husband" if she were elected president. After receiving "boos" of contempt from the audience, she answered by equating submission to respect, which are actually completely different concepts.

☛ It gives men the authority to become dictators, abusers of their wives, or to commit adultery.

☛ It is complete surrender, withdrawal, and apathy on the part of the wife.

☛ It means inferiority of women.

☛ It makes women the doormat of the family.

☛ It gives grounds for women to do all the housework, and the husband to sit back and give orders.

What is Biblical Submission?

☛ The husband is the spiritual head, therefore he's responsible for matters of the family. (1 Cor 11:3)

☛ Submission is mutual commitment and cooperation. By dying to self, it is the key in the smooth functioning of any business, government, or family. God ordained submission in certain relationships to prevent chaos by placing a final decision-making authority.

☛The husband/father will have to answer not only for himself, but also for his family. It will be the husband/father who will be called into account for the decisions that were made within the family concerning you and your children. There are so many things the husband has to consider. The role of spiritual leader requires a lot of sacrifice for his family. You may remember that God went to Adam in the Garden, not Eve, when the fruit from the tree had been eaten.

☛ She does have the command to submit (Eph. 5:22), but think about this: -- we can submit to anybody -- a teacher, a parent, a boss, or whoever. If the husband is following God's will for himself and his family, he will love his wife. He will take the lead in his family. If the husband is not a Christian, Paul said that it is through the godly walk of the wife that the husband will be won.

What is Respect?

On a practical level, respect includes: taking someone's feelings, needs, thoughts, ideas, wishes and preferences into consideration. It means taking all of these seriously and giving them worth and value. It also includes acknowledging them, listening to them, being truthful with them, and accepting their individuality and idiosyncrasies. Respect can be shown through behavior of the wife.

So, did Michele Bachmann answer the question correctly?

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About Me

"Let not the beautiful woman glory in her pretty face or figure, neither the immaculate housekeeper glory in her ability: let not the woman of hospitality glory in her good cooking or homey atmosphere, nor the writer glory in her accomplishments.

But rather let her that glorieth glory in this, that she knows God and is growing in His wisdom and understanding." Jeremiah 9:24-25 (paraphrased)